Tow vehicle
 

What do you guys use as a tow vehicle? I can't have a truck since I plan to use the SUV as a baby mover/family vehicle. There are not many SUVs that can carry more than 5000lbs. Is 5000lbs enough or should I look for more in order to be safe? I will only tow <8 times a year.

I prefer to trade the Z on a new SUV, but I guess used ones are always better buys and I have more options. I just don't want to deal with the hassle of having to fix them since my garage isn't big enough for me to work on an SUV.

My wife prefers the Honda Pilot for new vehicle. I prefer the FJ/4runner. The reason for them is that they leave me enough $$ to buy an autox car and a race car. They also have excellent resale value, that's why I would only buy those cars new.

Of course I am still tempted with that orange tts i saw :)

4Runner...about 6000lbs i believe

New ones are all 5000 with the V6

Some of the Quad Cab Trucks have a ton of room in them. Put a tonneau cover over the back and you have the best of all worlds.

If you are possibly considering a used SUV with good resale value and can tow some weight (and if gas mileage in not much of a concern :icon14: ) -
I would suggest a used Ford Excursion Diesel.
You could haul the car, pit crew, and family with it. At the same time! :tup:

FJ FTW. Saw one the other day. Army green with black wheels.

I use a 2010 Expedition. , but I think its rated at around 9000 lbs.

Fuel mileage sucks for daily driving, around 18-19, but I get about 11-13 if I drive easily when towing. I only got 7-8 with our old 07 Tahoe.

Plus, the Expo has trailer sway control built into the stability system, which is pretty cool.

Good advice in this thread:

http://www.the370z.com/other-vehicle...j-cruiser.html

If you can afford it find a nice used aluminum trailer to help keep the weight down, I've seen the featherlite trailers towed by just about anything.

You guys are right that 5000lbs are very marginal, but I just don't want to get a car and let it sit (almost like my Z). If I have a V6 tow vehicle, I would at least don't mind to drive it as much. Of course now that I am used to the 49mpg, it's hard to go back to anything under 20.

My wife wanted the pilot even as they are another $5000 cheaper, but they are rated at 4500lbs!!

Is a Toyota Sequoia out of your price range? My 2010 Sequoia with the 5.7 engine tows almost as well as my F250 Superduty 7.3L Turbo Diesel. If so, what about a used Gen 1 Sequoia? I previously owned a 2002 Sequoia with the 4.7 engine and towed my 5000 lb boat all the time with no problems. That was one of the best engines I have ever owned. Fuel milage was poor (18mpg on the highway when not towing) but the engine oil looked brand new after 7500 miles, even with over 200k on the odometer. That Sequoia was as reliable as my brand new Honda Civic. I think you could find a 2007 Sequoia with low miles for a bargain and have a very reliable tow vehicle with seating for 8.

Yes, out of my price range ($40K new). They are so expensive used that I would rather buy something else in that price range. That's one of the primary reason why I want 4Runner/FJ

the new tundra crewmax has a ton of interior space and a 5.7 engine that will tow great. mpg is a little worse than fj or 4runner, but has msrp new of under 32k for 2wd version. Having a truck is so convenient. But I like the aluminum trailer idea also.

If you're towing any significant distance and value the tow vehicle, overkill is your friend. We used to tow a 23' sport fishing boat back and forth from Florida to Chicago with a Ram 2500 Sport with the Cummins turbo diesel. (~12k lb towing capacity) Despite having all the bells and whistles and towing a boat and trailer that couldn't top 8k lbs max, the engine was dead in 3 years. I used to tow the same boat for short distances around town with my LandRover Defender 90 and that engine died in 4 years. Just like boosting will shorten your engine longevity, so will towing. So the larger the margin of towing capacity vs towing weight, the better off you and your tow vehicle will be.

I did a lot of research on this topic and had the same ideas as you when I started... ultimately, nothing beats a diesel truck... I bought a used 100K miles F250 6.0L superduty in good shape and it tows like a beast... had $1,000 in electronics repairs but otherwise I couldn't be more happy

I NEVER have to think about whether the brakes or engine are up to the task... never have to think about how much I load or where I place the load in the trailer... etc

The truck was $10K... and I could care less if it gets scratched, beat on, bird crapped on, broken into (all those have happened already)... it sits in my driveway in the sun and I don't care... and it still tows like a beast!

Quad cab means it can haul 5 people... long bed means I can use it to move debris, tires, trash, lumber, mulch, etc of almost any dimension

Pathfinder with the V6 will tow 6000lbs.

E

One thing worth mentioning...

The maximum tow rating of a vehicle is NOT what you should be towing around all the time. If you're towing the max capacity of your vehicle, you're near capacity for engine power, transmission gearing, and braking capacity. The last one (braking capacity) is the most important as this will save your life when you have to stop suddenly. If you tow 3,000 lbs with a vehicle rated at 6,000 lbs, you have a nice margin and towing won't be a nail-biting, fright fest. If you tow at your max capacity, I guarantee you'll hate towing. During one trip to Florida with the rig I mentioned above, we took a highway off ramp at about 60mph. It was a downhill grade and the traffic at the bottom of the ramp suddenly stopped. We couldn't get the rig slowed and we blasted past everyone along the shoulder until we could finally get stopped. Everyone with me in the truck was terrified, and the nice trip to Florida became an 'oh ****, what if that happens again?' experience. For this reason, I also recommend electronic-activated trailer brakes. The pressure-brakes on some trailers are horrible, and you'll be able to comfortably tow more weight (or closer to max capacity) if you have a good trailer brake system.

Going to eat my words... fell in love with the tundra on a test drive recently and bought one last night. Paid about $35k for a 2012 4x2 Limited with tow package of course, and got $8.5k on trade for the f250. It has 11,000 lbs tow capacity and I will pull no more than 8,000, usually 7,000. Will use it as my DD most of the time, and hoping for ~20 mpg... 10-12 mpg when towing. Already starting with the mods. Rear sway and "RAS" system to improve towing stability when cornering and braking. And bolt-on power should give me +40 ft-lbs. I'll post pics on my Z journal later.

+1 for F250 Super Duty .... on the basis that all good things in motorsport go better with "lots" of everything (horsepower, brakes, etc).

In OZ, we get the Nissan Navara STX 550 ..... is a 4-door "ute" (short for utility - front seats like a car, but load area out back) SUV with 3500kg rated tow capacity, but not sure if they are available in USA. Is fitted with Renault-sourced V6 TT diesel that makes 180Kw and 550Nm of torque.

I personally tow with a Ford XR8 ute - Oz-designed "ute" (there is that word again) which has 5.4 litre Ford V8 from the F-series, but fitted with Cobra 32-valve heads (special manufacture for Oz), which I run on LPG (propane to you guys). It has a 140 litre propane tank in the tub out back and gives 650Km range on LPG and another 450 on regular fuel. On propane it makes 290Kw but more importantly, 525Nm of torque.

Trailer is an open-deck job weighing 650kg (we also carry 6 spares race wheels, two boxes of spares plus two tool boxes and 4 x 20-litre fuel cans, which weighs ~ 250kg all up) and the race car weighs 970kg. I tow this rig ~6-8000kms every year for the series I compete in, and have done so for the past 20 years - my tow vehicle's last around 5-6 years before the transmission gets tired (I also have an extra large transmision cooler fitted to reduce the AT fluid temps for this reason).

If you can afford a dedicated tow vehicle, get one ... IMHO they don't depreciate that much if you buy one which is ~3 years old, and the heavier carry/tow capacity - the better. Diesel makes for lots of torque which makes for an easy tow .... torque is your friend in a tow vehicle.

If you need double duty for family etc, then try something like the Nissan Navara 550 (if they are actually sold in the US).

Remember, in towing, torque rules ...

2009 chevy duramax!! Pulls 12k and will hold 65 or better on every grade with 35" tires!!